UniQuely Kenyan Rock genRes

The next few posts over the coming weeks are going to be focused on codifying uniquely Kenyan rock genres because apparently no one has done that yet (twits). Any who, here goes genre numero uno: Swa rock. It had been argued that combining rock’s angst filled musical idioms with the unique phonetic rules of Swahili would be an impossible task or at least the music resulting from this unholy alliance would suck big time. Well Kenyan rock bands have been proving sceptics wrong over the past few years.

If you are an avid fan like me then you probably already heard Murfys flaws Makosa.  This album is an alternative rock piece that plays well on the Swahili languages poetic strengths and adds a touch of afro-fusion to give that authentic African feel. And Parkinglotgrass’s cover of Kare, originally done by P–unit, is another example. And my indisputably favourite of all, Tafadhali by Simply Tomas. another example is Yelele by Dove Slimme. Although it does not use Swahili the entire time is still a great example of how Swahili works for rock. I guess for any Swahili speaker it is more personal, relatable, intimate, you get? Plus any linguistics expert will tell you African languages are tonal: you vary the pitch when saying the same word and the meaning changes. 

parkinglot grass

Another uniquely Kenyan subgenre of rock music is Genge rock. This marries rock and the Kenyan rap genre, Genge. I know of one solid example, PLG’s Kare cover. Punk and Genge were made for each other. Listen and agree here. Other artists although not strictly rockers have included rock in some of their music. A good example is Juliani’s exponential potential and bahasha ya ocampo. 
stay tune for more uniquely kenyan genres.

PLG rEpresent Kenyan Rock in Germany

Once again PLG is testing the limits and taking Kenyan rock to new heights. This November ParkingLotGrass was invited to represent the country in the 49 degree metal zone in Bayreuth Germany. Read as the band tells Kenyan Rock Band of their European adventure.

PLG lead singer Raphael Sipalla and Guitarists Victor Chweya and Amos Kiptoon performing at Bayreuth

First off, briefly explain what 49 degrees metal zone is all about? When did it start? who are the organizers? how regularly does It happen?

The 49 Degrees Metal Zone was a metal festival organized by the institute/faculty of African Studies called the Iwalewa House at the University of Bayreuth and spearheaded by an amazing lady called Alexandre. This was in essence her project. The 2013 show was the first time and it was essentially a showcase of metal from Africa. It was a 3 day event with the first day being an exhibition on photos by an amazing South African photographer called Frank Marshall, second day included a movie screening on the Metal Scene in Angola and a panel discussion with the African bands and the third day was set aside for the concert. Being the first, we do hope that the organizers were happy enough to make this an annual event.

How did the festivals organizers get to hear about and eventually invite you to perform?

They were referred to us by a friend of one of the organizers who knew about the band and knew our drummer, Ronjey. So they reached out, asked to sample some of our recorded music then the invitation followed when they liked what they heard. We were humbled and honoured.

What about other African bands? What stood out for you about their music? 

There was one other African band. A metal band from Angola called Before Crush. What stood out most is how powerful their sound was with just one guitarist on stage. The band was pretty tight and delivered a strong performance. We'd definitely want to play alongside them again and hopefully can visit Angola or get them to come to Kenya soon.

Aside from the African bands, there were also two bands from Germany. There was Aardvaks and there was Shark Tank. Both amazing guys to watch on stage. Everyone gave the show their best and it was evident in the atmosphere.

So you are going to Germany, what did ParkinglotGrass expect when you got there? How did you guys prepare to represent Kenya in the international stage? Were you nervous?

Yeah, ofcourse we were nervous. It was by all means a great achievement both for us and for the Kenyan scene. We didnt have any pre-determined expectations on what we'd find when we got there. And that made it all the better for us because the experience was fantastic and our hosts were amazing people. They made us feel really at home there and that made all the difference. It would have been harder to do the show by landing one night, playing the next and jetting out. And the organizers probably figured as much. By the time we were playing the gig, we felt like we were around our friends and not strangers in a crowd and that made it a better experience.

Preparation was practice, practice and practice. We also asked other bands to give us any of their merch and music that they wanted us to share out there which we did.

Ronjey, PLG drummer

What was on ParkingLotGrass's playlist at the 49 degrees metal zone?

Our set list was all originals from our EP as well as some material that we're currently recording for our album. At the end of our set, the crowd wanted one more song so we threw in the quickest track that we could do without much practice but that could still get the crowd jumping... "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Every rocker and metal head just has to love that song. And they did.

Audiences at 49 degree metal zone

The audience: how did they receive you brand of music? What would PLG say is the perception of the Continent's rock scene out there?

The audience was VERY accommodating and open minded. At first, we naturally weren't sure what to expect. But once we got into it, the crowd was full of positive energy and that helped us a lot. We'd say it was all well received. We had a chance to speak to the other bands after as well as a lot of the people that attended the show and they were very excited overall. So were we.

We cant really say anything that would cover an overall "perception" about the continent's scene. What we did find out is that there's a lot of interest in the African rock and metal scenes so bands need to get their music out there and heard. We hope to be able to go back to Germany and elsewhere and keep spreading the word about the Kenyan scene for years to come and look forward to being able to do that with a lot more bands from here and across the continent. 

Any moments of comic relief while you guys were at Bayreuth? How did you deal with the language barrier? 

There were lots of laughs. That much you can be assured of. There wasnt much of a language barrier as everyone speaks English pretty well. Some students and faculty at the Iwalewa House even spoke some Swahili which was quite exciting. We took the opportunity to learn some German as well. Some of us more successfully than others. It was an awesome experience all around and we made a lot of friends. Bayreuth was an amazing place.

And lastly, what did the band learn from the whole experience?

Well we learnt a lot about being away from home as the band. Its very different from playing the regular shows at home. Being "on the road" is a different experience for everyone. But now, more than ever, we're sure we want to be doing this for a long time to come. We learnt a lot from the other bands as well that played in terms of stage presence, professionalism, sounds and styles. Another thing we saw is that there's great reward is simply doing what you love. Pursue your dreams and desires and be patient with everything. All things come in their time. The list of lessons overall is pretty long. 

What does ParkingLotGrass have planned for Kenyan Rock fans?

Well we truly believe 2014 will be an amazing year. We're glad to have been a part of the scene for the past 3 and a half years and to have seen the growth that the scene has experienced in that time and before. More bands are recording and releasing good material. We for one, can confirm here that we shall release our full length album in 2014 and it shall be bigger and heavier than the EP. Hopefully, fans will see some growth in the band since our 2012 release. We also hope to do a lot more shows outside Nairobi and spread the culture to places where rock and metal bands haven't played before. So in 2014, Kenyan rock fans can expect to see and hear a lot more from us. We have a few surprises that we hope they'll be happy with. 

But not just for the Kenyan fans, but for our fans from all over the world. 2014 is their year. We do this for each and every one of them that continues to support and believe in us.

KenYan Rock theSE past few weeks

It has admittedly been a long time since I posted anything. There are a myriad of good excuses for this but I’ll stick to the music. There is a lot that should have been said one these past few weeks of silence so I’ll dive straight into where I left off.

March from the underground was awesome. Acts that took the stage included, Murfy’s Flaw, PLG, Void of Belonging, Dove Slimme and of course, Last Year’s Tragedy. The MCing was in the capable although admittedly tipsy hands of Murfy’s Flaw’s Nambari Tisa. Void of belonging is a new act on the scene. It’s the first time I have seen them perform live. They did not disappoint. They performed various tracks including an original, recurrent wars. PLG also showcased their new lead vocalist, Dan from another Kenyan rock band, Seismic. The band played tracks like Release, Shimo mfukoni Shine and Let me be. There was talk of a new album to be released this coming June. LYT rounded off the performance with tracks like Elephant in the room; the war has come home; Challenge accepted and March from the underground.

ParkingLotGrass released a new track, the Rain man. The track is currently available for download on Mdundo.com. LYT also released a new single, Of villains and heroes. Oh and whilst trolling the net I found this album, Cats Of  nine tails by Lust of a Dying Breed.